Difficult education environment still letting many pupils down
Rob Le Roux, retired principal of Westerford High School in Cape Town, wrote in a Church & The Community column last year that his had been one of the top-performing schools in the country.
He further blew his own trumpet about the fact that he’d had the privilege of working with an excellent team and the cream of the crop academically (The Herald, November 21 2022).
There is no doubt that they all deserve to be applauded and given three cheers for that achievement.
The Herald of February 20 published different and attractive programmes offered by several leading schools in Gqeberha.
Some of the schools featured were Alexander Road High, St George’s, St Dominic’s Priory, Muir College and Curro.
It is clear that the listed schools are among the best in our country.
They are described as examples of excellence where the pupil-friendly environment serves to create a second home for pupils.
In these schools, whether preparatory or high school, the child is developed as a whole, and fully equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to engage with the world.
There are top-class facilities including sports complexes, swimming pools and so on.
Boys are trained by accredited, provincial-level coaches on the rugby field and cricket pitch.
It is highly appreciated that pupils are being prepared to thrive in the modern world.
These schools have delivered products of courage and distinction.
Le Roux’s view seems to be that there is nothing wrong with our education system.
We just have to look at the quality of products from functioning schools to see that it is world class.
Good schools have teachers who are prepared to invest in their pupils.
Reference is made to dysfunctional schools with poor management and that teachers simply do not care.
Let us admit that it is not always poor management that brings about low standards.
Let us also accept that the social environment in which a school is situated can contribute to its success or failure.
There is no doubt that the schools referred to in the first few paragraphs of my letter above are situated in the affluent areas.
The rich parents can afford to dig deep into their pockets for the education of their children.
The obvious results are that these schools are well resourced, in addition to the staff paid by the government.
They have enough funds to employ highly qualified and accredited private teachers.
In one of S Covey’s books he says: “Rich families can afford the best schools and poor families get the crumbs.”
Unlike Le Roux, I was the principal of a primary school situated in a very poor environment.
There was not a single classroom.
The school, with an enrolment of about 450 pupils, was accommodated in six church buildings.
There were no playgrounds.
For sport we used any small, and often unsuitable, open space that we could find.
The school was bitterly under-resourced in various ways.
Such situations presented much stress in the organisation and management of the school.
In many homes, income was severely low and that affected parental support significantly.
Poverty dominated and the poor children had difficulty getting access to basic education.
And yet, like Le Roux’s school, ours was also one of the top performing schools in the country.
That can be confirmed by the records in the offices of the Grahamstown (Makhanda) and Craddock inspection circuits.
This situation was thanks to skilled and committed, quality teachers.
I support The Herald of April 24 in calling for pressure to effect change in education in our country.
Sizwe Nxasana, in the same paper, said: “There is no education system that can be better than the quality of its teachers.” To that I may add the importance of an education environment which provides opportunities where pupils are able to acquire life and leadership skills.
Ann Bernstein (“School reform requires outrage followed by action,” April 24) appealed to South Africans to kick-start a serious debate and dialogue over what is wrong with our education system, and how best to fix it.
She further comes up with a solution that “what is needed now is for every organisation, every leader and all those citizens who care about our children and the future of this country to find their voice and up the pressure for better schooling”.
One of my humble and practical suggestions is that, if the teacher/pupil ration is 1: 30 in all schools, in schools in poor areas it should be 1: 20.
This will alleviate the stressful burden carried by teachers in such areas.
For example, I know of a primary school teacher who is handling 56 pupils in her class.
A high school language teacher has to mark 300 scripts in her subject.
It is a great pity that the good efforts of many teachers, especially in poor areas (like my school referred to above) are not exposed.
I know of teachers who have to had to make great sacrifices to produce good results.
Many of them have classes on Saturdays.
They continue with winter classes during holidays.
Some even spend their money to make photocopies of books for children who cannot afford books.
The story goes on. While we appreciate and highlight the good work in the former model C schools, we must not forget to expose the austere conditions under which the poorer classes operate.
We must not forget to bring hope and education to orphans, working children and child-headed families.
We encourage reporters in Gqeberha to visit Malabar, New Brighton, Motherwell, Korsten and so on, and report on the shortfalls and extremely poor conditions under which some schools operate.
There are many teachers there who have the children’s best interests at heart.
While we appreciate and highlight the good work in the former model C schools, we must not forget to expose the austere conditions under which the poorer classes operate’